New Beginnings
by Theo Telshalla-Arieda Gardner
Summary: When Arthur Penn gets dared to disturb Old Man Emrys' peace by dumping trash into his beloved lake, he didn't know it would lead to him discovering his destiny, along with reuniting with a long lost best friend. In short: Arthur finds an aged Merlin and learns about his past as King Arthur. Merlin Reincarnation AU


Arthur Penn didn't pay attention to the history lesson. Well, to give him some credit, he was trying, but was all so boring. He knew that he'd never learned about medieval England, but for some reason, he felt like he already knew exactly what happened - kind of like Deja vu. So Arthur let his mind wander.

He snuck a glance at Robert, his best friend. Robert turned to meet his eyes, and Arthur groaned, knowing what they were both thinking about. The dare. Robert raised his eyebrow, as if to say, 'You're actually going through with this?'. Arthur nodded slightly, then turned his gaze back to the front of the room, trying to put the thought out of his mind.

He tried to turn his thoughts back to the lesson but he couldn't help but sneak a glance at Gwen. She looked beautiful as always, a light smile running across her face. She caught Arthur's gaze and grinned.

Arthur smiled back. Hopefully she didn't find out about what he was going to do for the dare. Gwen was such a kind person; she would probably hate him forever.

But of course, Arthur couldn't injure his pride.

Once they were out of class, Robert ran up to him.

"Arthur, you know you can withdraw from the dare if you want. We all know how crazy that old man gets."

Arthur shook his head defiantly. "What do you think I am, a coward? No, I'm definitely going."

Robert's grin widened. "Great! I'm got some of the other guys to come. I'd love to see the look on Old Emrys' face when you dump that stuff into the lake.

The two boys walked out of the school building. The air was stuffy and the sun beamed down on them. Arthur tugged on his shirt, partly from being nervous and partly because of the weather. A small group of people noticed them and started walking up.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Who are they?" he said to Robert.

Robert sighed. "I told you, I invited Matthew's crowd to join us."

"What?" Arthur hissed. "You know how they are!"

"Calm down, they're only going to watch you, they promised not to interfere."

"And you believed them!"

Robert nudged him lightly as the group approached within earshot.

Matthew spoke first, with a sneer. "So. I hear you're going to give that old crazy man by the lake a fit when you throw that rubbish into the lake."

Robert nodded. "Yup. Arthur here has taken up the dangerous task."

"Can't wait to see it." Matthew said.

Arthur started walking towards his car when he was stopped by Robert.

"Wait, you're forgetting the rubbish."

"What?"

"The rubbish, you idiot. The stuff we're going to dump inside the lake." He handed Arthur a small rubbish bin. The smell wasn't too foul, but Arthur took shallow breaths as he led them to the car.

He threw the bin in the trunk and turned in the ignition as everyone climbed in.

Robert climbed in shotgun and stared at Arthur. "Emrys can be crazy, you know?"

"I know."

"And you're still going to do it?"

"Yes."

"Alright then." Robert said. "But it's your call."

Arthur pushed any further arguments out of his mind and set out for the lake.

The soft flowing water of the lake disturbed Arthur. But he wasn't going to back out now. Not after Matthew was here, not after he'd already drove to the lake with the stench of the rubbish in the car.

No, Arthur was going to do this no matter what Old Emrys thought.

A small part of his brain protested still. He's an old man. Probably senile. Can't you just leave him in peace?

But then Matthew pushed him out of his inner turmoil. He handed Arthur the bin and pointed to the clearing near the lake. "You gonna to do it or not?"

"Uh, yeah." Arthur walked towards the lake, about to throw the things in when he saw the old man.

He was standing there looking out into the waters, not noticing Arthur yet. His head was bowed, and he look like he was at a funeral.

'Maybe for a fish' Arthur thought, scoffing, but even as the thought rolled through his mind, he knew that it wasn't that simple.

He continued to watch the old man, disregarding his original reason for coming to the lake. Something about him...it made Arthur shiver. Deja vu, perhaps? Like he'd seen him before.

"We don't have all day!" One of the boys yelled.

Emrys turned to see him, and in the moment that their eyes met, a silent conversation took place between them. Emrys stared at Arthur, not with a look of anger, but more confusion, as if he couldn't quite understand why Arthur was trying to pollute the lake.

Arthur tried to convey some sort of apology through his gaze. He didn't want to do this - he really didn't, but he was Arthur Penn, and he couldn't back out now. Not if he didn't want to be teased in school for the rest of his life. Then his hands jerked the bin forward and the garbage poured down into the lake.

Emrys sighed, looking disappointed, but also like he didn't expect anything more from Arthur. Arthur heard the faint jeers of the other boys behind him, and he turned around to see Matthew run up behind to old man and shove him forward towards the lake.

"Why don't you take a dip in the lake, eh, Emrys? Go on. Since you love it so much?"

The other boys started to harass Emrys too and Robert walked down the slope next to Arthur with an uneasy look.

"He promised not to interfere."

Arthur glared. "And you believed him." He turned to see the old man still being pushed around. Arthur's guilt fed his anger at their actions. He walked up to Matt, Robert following him at a distance, like he didn't want to be held responsible for whatever was going to happen next.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Matt looked surprised. "What do you think? The old man needs to be taught a lesson."

"No he doesn't. You said you wouldn't interfere. Unhand him or pay the price."

Matthew looked at him, his face holding a smirk. "What are you going to do about it?"

Arthur's fist connected with the older boy's jaw with a sickening crack.

"You broke my face!"

Robert pulled Arthur back, looking panicked. "Come on Arthur, that's enough. Come on!"

Arthur watched Emrys slipped away as Matt fumed.

He ran back to his car, Robert hurriedly jumping in shotgun.

"They're going to kill you, Arthur, what the heck were you thinking?"

He fled.

"Arthur, you've hardly touched your food." Morgana regarded him with worry. "Are you feeling sick?"

Arthur shrugged. "Guess I'm not that hungry."

"Where were you after school today?" Uther asked his son. "I expected you at my house right after school for your piano lesson."

Arthur cringed. He had forgotten about piano lessons after the thing he had gotten caught up in this afternoon. "I was down by the lake."

Uther raised an eyebrow. "The lake? Arthur, what could you possibly want to do by the lake?"

Arthur shoveled some beans into his mouth to avoid answering. He merely shrugged again.

Morgana studied him and came to a conclusion. "He's hiding something."

Curse you, Morgana!

Uther stared at Arthur until he couldn't avoid his gaze any longer. "I was visiting Emrys."

Morgana nearly choked on her chicken. Uther slammed his cup down on the table, water sloshing over onto his fist. "Emrys! What were you doing with Emrys?"

Arthur sighed. He knew how much his father despised the old man - most everyone in town did. The adults thought he was insane, and one day he would crack and kill someone. There were some rumors flying around that he was an evil immortal sorcerer, but of course, Uther didn't believe in things like that. Uther's reasons for hating someone usually had to do with money or business.

And so it was with Emrys. Uther had tried to expand his fishing business to the lake, but the old man had warned him, saying a curse would be put on anything he tried at the lake. Uther, of course, didn't listen, and went ahead anyway.

Accidents started happening. Millions of pounds worth of fish were suddenly lost. Uther accused the old man of sabotaging the business, but could never find evidence that he stole the fish.

Arthur shuddered. What if Emrys had somehow actually cursed the business? He tried not to think of the rumors of sorcery.

"Well, Arthur? Explain!" Arthur was snapped out of his thoughts by his father, who was staring expectantly at him.

"It was more to...tick him off. A bunch of boys and I went there to throw some rubbish in the lake. He nearly had a heart attack.'

Uther's gaze softened, then turned into a laugh, which Arthur joined weakly.

"How good did you get him, my boy?"

"He was going crazy. He tried to take a swing but the boys pushed him towards the lake."

Uther howled with laughed. "That'll teach him to stop messing around in things that don't concern him!"

Arthur smiled, partly glad his father approved of him, but caught Morgana's furious gaze.  
"Arthur! He's just a senile old man! Couldn't you just leave him be? Have you no respect for elders? That poor man!"

Arthur's guilty conscience rose to the surface again, as Uther and Morgana were in the middle of another one of their fights.

"Please excuse me, Father." Arthur muttered, not sure his father even noticed, but not caring. He walked up the stairs into his room and collapsed on the bed. Morgana's words haunted him.

A few minutes and an angry storm off later, Morgana joined him on the bed.

"Are you angry with me, Morgana?"

"Yes. But not as angry as I am with Father. Why does he wish people such harm?"

Arthur sighed, putting his hands over his eyes. "He is a bitter man. But I don't want to be like that. I feel so guilty about doing that to Emrys. I know what the people say of him, but when I see him...it's like he's my grandfather."

Morgana looked at him. "You feel it too? I never told Father of this...but a few months ago, when I had particularly bad row with him, I snuck out and saw Emrys - you know, just to spite Father. He asked me what I was doing out so late, and he let me in his cottage. He knew my name without me ever telling it to him. And when I told him of what happened, of how much I hated Father...he told me not to hate."

Arthur looked at her, surprised. "What do you mean, not to hate? I would think Emrys would hate Father the most after what he's put him through."

"That's just it. He told me that no matter how many horrible things Father has done, to not hate him. That hatred is a powerful weapon, but also a powerful way to destroy yourself. And the way he looked at me, with so much sorrow...it hurt."

"I want to see him again, to apologize, maybe, but I don't think Father will let me go near the lake again."

Morgana sat upright. "Sometimes, you have to do what you think is right -"

"-and damn the consequences," Arthur finished.

The siblings looked at each other. Morgana spoke first. "How did you know what I was going to say?"

Arthur shook his head. "I don't know. It was just like deja vu. Like I've heard you say it before."

Morgana pondered on this. "Perhaps I have. It feels familiar to me also."

Arthur smiled and hugged his sister, surprised by the sudden wave of affection he felt for her. Morgana broke away and smiled. "Good night, Arthur."

She left to her room, leaving Arthur alone to wonder about the strange Emrys.

Arthur turned the ignition in his car and headed off the driveway. He had taken Morgana's words to heart and was going to go see Emrys.

Arthur didn't really know why he wanted to see the old man so badly. It wasn't even about apologizing or trying to spite his father. It was that strange connection - the sense of deja vu that made him want to go back.

He remembered what he said to Morgana - that Emrys felt like a grandfather. No. He had lied. Arthur didn't feel that Emrys was a grandfather, he felt that he was a friend. A good friend, a trusted adviser. Someone he could tell anything to and would be there to support him. Someone who would never betray Arthur.

Arthur felt he had been betrayed a lot. A strange feeling, seeing as the most betrayal he had gone through was when someone he thought was his friend had spread a rumor behind his back.

He soon reached the small cottage on the lake. He could see the lights on and realized that it was five in the morning and Emrys could have very well been asleep. At least he wasn't.

Arthur got out of his car and walked up to the front door, then realized he had no idea what he would say.

'Oh, hi, I know you hate my father and I poured a bunch of garbage in the lake you love so much and let my friends push you around but do you mind letting me in?'

But it was too late to go back now, and besides, Arthur Penn never backed down from anything.

He knocked on the door lightly, just in case the man happened to be asleep. Part of him hoped he was, so he'd have a reason to go back, but the door opened to show the old man, robes and all.

"Er, hi."

Emrys raised an eyebrow. "Can I help you, boy?"

"I...I wanted to apologize. For this afternoon."

The old man ushered him in, and Arthur hesitantly took his offer. He stepped into the cabin, partly expecting to find a cauldron bubbling potions and wands and dead toads. But it was a normal little home. A small wooden table and chairs were the centerpiece and a few bookshelves lined the walls, filled with old and new books alike. A small fire was going in the fireplace.

"I forgive you for it. Truth is that I would probably have done the same at your age."

"You would dump rubbish into a lake?"

Emrys shrugged, sitting down. "If I was dared to do it."

Arthur stared at him. "How did you know I was dared to do it?"

The old man's eyes twinkled. "I have magic." He grinned, and Arthur thought it was supposed to be a joke, but he couldn't bring himself to laugh. Something about those words.

'I have magic.' A young man sobbed, gripping Arthur's arm. He said it like it was a crime, like it was murder. 'I use it for you, Arthur. Only for you.'

Arthur jolted out of the flashback to see Emrys staring at him worriedly.

"Are you alright, Arthur? You look like you just saw a ghost."

"I never told you my name!"

"I heard it from one of the boys." Emrys said quickly, but Arthur saw the momentary panic in his eyes. It was a lie.

"It's something about you, Emrys. I can't quite put my finger on it."

The feeling was back. The deja vu feeling, like he'd said those words before, maybe even to the same person.

But that was insane. Arthur had never talked to Emrys before.

"Are you a sorcerer?" Arthur blurted out, then realized the absurd nature of what he had said. "I mean..."

"Whatever made you think that?"

"I dunno, really." Arthur blushed. "I guess...I don't know. Maybe it's because it's what some of the people around here say you are. An immortal sorcerer. It's all really stupid and stuff."

"Really?" His eyes twinkled again. "Do you believe it, Arthur?"

"I would expect your house to look more..."

"Potions? A cauldron bubbling over? Ancient spell books, I believe?"

Arthur nodded hesitantly, feeling a little childish talking about the subject matter.

The old man hobbled over to his bookshelf and took an old dusty book down from the highest shelf. He blew the dust off and handed the heavy item to Arthur. The cover had a strange snake skin like texture with a small symbol engraved into it. He held the book gently in his hands and opened it up to the first page.

"The Art of Sorcery and the Divine Crafts?" Arthur looked up at Emrys. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Emrys shrugged. "I'm not trying to tell you anything, Arthur Pendragon. I am merely showing you."

"Pendragon? Like King Arthur? Why did you call me that?"

"So you are familiar with King Arthur and his Knights?"

Arthur nodded slowly. "Yeah. Everyone is. You have to learn it in school. Actually, that's the topic we're covering right now."

"Do you find the topic interesting?" he asked Arthur.

"Not...particularly. Not in the way they teach it. It's like I've known about it forever."

Emrys raised an eyebrow. "Where do you think you get this knowledge from?"

Arthur sat down and set the old magic book on the table. "I read a lot of books when I was a kid. I probably read about Camelot before."

"Perhaps."

"But you don't think so."

"It doesn't matter what I think."

Arthur stared at the man for a few seconds, thoroughly puzzled. He turned his attention back to the book. "These...spells. Are they real? Does magic actually exist?"

"Yes."

"What?" Arthur's initial reaction was thinking Emrys was indeed as crazy as they said he was, but the more he thought about magic being real, the more he believed it.

"Are you a sorcerer?" He repeated his question from before, but now meaning to say it and with part of him believing that Emrys might actually be one.

"Yes."  
Arthur didn't fight it this time. Magic was real. Emrys was a sorcerer. He was King Arthur.

Wait, what?

Where had that come from?

But the instant he said it, flashes of memory came back.

"This table belonged to the ancient kings of Camelot. A round table afforded no man more importance than any other."

"Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the peoples of Camelot according to their respective laws and customs?"

"I solemnly swear so to do."

"...then by the sacred law vested in me, I crown you Arthur, King of Camelot!"

"Just...just...hold me."

Arthur snapped out of the memory of his dying words, staring up at his best friend.

"No."

Emrys nodded. "Go on."

"I died."

"You did."

Arthur looked at the old man that he once thought to be senile and crazy.

He looked back out the window to see the dark night start to slip away. His father would be up soon.

"I have to leave."

"I know."

Emrys walked over to the door and held it open for him. Arthur didn't want to leave - he wanted to find out more, wanted to know about what had happened. But he knew if his father found out Emrys would be in even more trouble and he had to go to school in an hour anyway.

Arthur walked out of the cottage and stared at Emrys.

"I'm King Arthur." He said matter-of-factly.

"I suppose so."

"And you're my best friend."

Emrys looked surprised for a moment, and then he smiled, the smile Arthur had never seen before in his life, but knew so well. "I've rarely heard you admit it."

Arthur fought the urge to cry as he hugged the old man.

The sun was peeking over the mountains now. Arthur headed back up the river bed. He turned back and waved. "See you tomorrow...Merlin."

And Merlin smiled.

English class was insufferably boring, as always, but Arthur smiled as the memories started coming back to him while the teacher droned on about his legends.

Gwaine, Leon, Percival, Elyan, and Lancelot. The knights.

Guinevere. He turned his gaze back to Gwen. She was definitely Guinevere. Which hopefully meant he had a chance with her.

Some of the stories about him were utter nonsense - like how Gwen had completely left him for Lancelot and how it had destroyed him. Or how he had grown up as a small boy in a village before becoming rightful king of Camelot. And how Merlin was an old man by the time he was born.

Arthur wondered where these people even got half of the load of rubbish.

The teacher's lecture faltered as Gwen raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"You said Guinevere was the daughter of a king?"

"I did."

"I thought she was a maid in the palace?"

The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Why would you think that? The social norms would have never allowed Arthur to marry a serving girl."

Arthur glared at his desk at his words, but his heart raised in the hopes that Guinevere might remember.

After class, he went up to Gwen near the lockers.

"Hey!"

She turned and waited for him to catch up to her. "Arthur."

"Hi."

The pair stood in silence for a minute until she spoke up. "Matt told everyone what you did last week after he came back to school. I think the dare was quite stupid, honestly, but I'm glad you helped Emrys."

"You are? I heard Matt's telling everyone that I only helped because I didn't want to get in trouble and that I was a wimp."

Gwen chuckled. "I don't think you did it because of that, Arthur. I saw you talking with him yesterday afternoon when I was walking home."

Arthur looked at her, surprised. "You saw me? Don't tell my dad," He said, half joking, but Uther still didn't know about Merlin.  
"You feel it too, right?" Gwen asked. "That weird feeling that you've seen him before?"

Arthur's smile widened at her remark. "I know it all too well. Hey, actually, Morgana and I were going to go visit Mer-Emrys today. Want to come?"

If Gwen noticed the slip up, she didn't comment on it. "Alright. He wouldn't mind, would he?"

Arthur smirked. "I'm sure he'd love to meet you."

The bell rang for the student's next class, and Arthur waved goodbye to Gwen as he headed to the west hall for his math class.

He turned the corner and collided with another person.

"Ow!"

Arthur looked down to see the boy he had run into clutching his head while sitting on the floor. He had curly black hair and blue eyes that reminded Arthur strangely of Merlin's. "Sorry! I didn't see you."

The boy chuckled. "Obviously."

Arthur helped him up. "I'm Arthur. You?"

The boy smiled. "Mordred."


End file.
